INDIA!

Now home from 3 weeks spent sprinting across northern India. Jetlag is getting the better of me this week. Had an incredible time and generally loved the country and the people we met. We spent most of our time in Rajastan, which was spectacular.

Started in New Delhi and toured the major tourist sites there. Our sweet guide gave us a crash course in the fundamentals of Hinduism and Sikh-ism while touring us through various temples. Our favorite aspect of the Sikh temples was that anyone can get a meal there. In a country with such a huge population, free food for the faithful seems a good idea. People pay for the food through services to the temple complex or donations to the temple depending on what they can manage.

Humayun's Tomb (above) was a highlight among the historic sites. I realized quickly that my love of Mughal art wasn't shared by all the Hindus I met, many of whom refer to the Mughals as conquerors. Lesson #1.


From Delhi we zipped up to Jaisalmer, near the border with Pakistan. Met a man with the best best best collection of vintage sarees there. Being a fabric junkie, this was heaven for me. There was a protest going on the day we were touring the city, so unbeknown to us, our guide was hiding us in the fabric store to avoid a rowdy crowd. The protest consisted of outraged Hindus reacting to a Muslim farmer's killing a bunch of cows by running over them with his tractor. I think he said that something like 26 cows were killed in the incident. Indians take their cows seriously (the term "sacred cow" isn't used ironically or metaphorically), so the protest shut down most of the town. It was good that our guide kept us clueless about the protest, he described it to us as a "strike" instead of a protest so we wouldn't fear for our safety. Not that I think there was any real danger for anyone but that farmer.

In Jaisalmer, we walked around the lake and visited some Jain temples. This is where we started to think that there's a lot to like about the Jain religion. (Lesson #2.)

As we wandered the streets after the protest, we encountered this guy who we paid 25 cents to unfurl his mustache (which he otherwise kept wound around his ears). He's trying to win a spot in the Guinness Book. (If I'm remembering correctly, his father set the existing record)